


Leap

by Irelando



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Movie, Protect Bodhi Rook 2k17, bodhi rook appreciation week, day 2: above his paygrade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 19:50:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10669608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irelando/pseuds/Irelando
Summary: Bodhi overhears a certain scientist making a recording, and has a decision to make.For Bodhi Appreciation Week 2017, Day 2.





	Leap

In the middle of the night, Eadu science station is almost eerily quiet. The scientists have gone to bed, the only sign of their presence the quiet whirring and beeping of machinery in the labs, the _chug chug chug_ of the refinery somewhere far beneath his feet.

When Bodhi first started coming here, it was different. It had a frenetic energy then, everyone rushing around, popping stims to keep from sleeping as they worked to build… whatever it was they’d built. He technically isn’t even supposed to know that the project is done, but it’s the only explanation for how a couple of weeks ago everything suddenly slowed. He stopped seeing Director Krennic’s white cape out of the corner of his eye, and his own runs back and forth from Jedha to shuttle kyber crystals dwindled to a couple a week instead of one every day.

He definitely prefers it this way. It’s easier that there’s no one left to stare when the restless, itchy feeling in his spine drives him out of his bed to walk the winding hallways of the base. He doesn’t have to explain himself when there’s no one to ask questions. And that means he doesn’t have to think too hard about it himself, and he can keep resolutely ignoring the fact that he knows exactly what that feeling means.

He knows exactly why it’s getting harder and harder to go to sleep. He’s just not ready to face it yet. So he walks until he’s exhausted enough physically that his thoughts can’t keep him awake.

Bodhi paces past the cafeteria, past Labs 2-A and 2-B, and turns to take the stairs down to the next level down. Three flights, back and forth, key open the door to Floor 3, and—

He stops. The door hisses shut behind him, and as the last echoes of the pneumatic hiss fades, he hears it again. A voice, somewhere nearby. He listens for a moment out of idle curiosity. Maybe a couple of the scientists are running an overnight experiment tonight.

No, he thinks, with a sinking feeling in his gut. He can’t make out the words, but even at this distance the tension in the voice is clear. And, whoever it is, they’re not pausing like they would if it were a conversation; it’s a steady rise-and-fall, like they’re talking to themself.

Or recording a message.

Bodhi stands rooted to the spot. _It’s none of your business_ , his fear whispers into the back of his mind. _Turn around. Go back upstairs. Whatever this is, you don’t want to get caught up in it._

It’s true. There’s no one else around, probably only a couple of Stormtroopers on this floor, and they’re usually not stationed on this side. He could go, leave whoever it is to whatever they’re up to, and no one would ever know.

Bodhi shakes his head. _I’d know_ , he tells that scared little voice inside him.

He turns toward the voice, making an effort to keep his footsteps quiet. It sounds like it’s coming from Lab 3-C, one given over largely to Galen Erso, the leader of the science team onsite. Bodhi’s always rather liked Galen, even if they both keep to themselves most of the time. He’d always struck Bodhi as nicer than most Imperial personnel. And sometimes, out of the corner of his eye, Bodhi thought he looked sad.

He gets closer, and sure enough, it’s Galen’s voice. Bodhi can even begin to make out a few words. He rounds the last corner before the lab just in time to hear a name that sends an arctic chill through his gut.

“Saw. The reactor module, that’s the key. That’s the place I’ve laid my trap.”

Whatever he says after that, Bodhi misses it completely. _Saw_ can only be Saw Gerrera, the leader of the rebels currently harrying Imperial troops on Jedha. And a trap? Sabotage? Whatever Galen Erso and the others built for the Empire, it’s big, Bodhi knows that. Whatever damage Erso did, it could be catastrophic.

 _You’re in way over your head, Rook_ , Bodhi thinks dazedly.

The voice in the lab stops. Of their own accord, Bodhi’s eyes drift to the alarm panel on the wall. His fingers flex. He could press it, bring the Stormtroopers down on him. Whatever Galen just recorded would be proof enough. Catching a traitor in the act, especially over something this huge, could be Bodhi’s ticket to… well, wherever he’d want to go in the Empire.

In the Empire. But then, that’s the whole problem, isn’t it? That’s what he’s been fighting so hard not to think about. He can’t pretend not to know anymore that he’s on the wrong side of this brewing war. Turning in Galen Erso would cement his allegiance to the Empire.

That’s not who Bodhi is. Or at least, that’s not who he wants to be. Not anymore.

Galen nearly runs into him as he comes out of the lab, tucking something into a belt pouch. “Oh, I’m sorry—“ the scientist mutters, dodging belatedly around him.

And then he freezes, just a step or two past Bodhi. “Wait. Did you…? How long were you standing there?”

Bodhi turns slowly to meet the other’s eyes, and sees for the first time the bags underneath them, the tension in every line of Galen Erso’s body. “Long enough,” he admits.

Galen twitches, a strange, full-body lurch as if he’s going to run and thinks better of it. He runs a hand through his hair, and his fingers are trembling. “It’s—I’m sure it sounded—“

“I know what I heard,” Bodhi says quietly.

“Ah,” Galen says.

Bodhi takes a deep breath. _Now or never._

“I want to help.”

Galen blinks. Then again. “You… you do?”

Bodhi’s stomach churns with fear, but he barely notices it past his sudden conviction. “You can’t broadcast that. They track comms in and out.” He marvels a little at how easily the Empire has become a ‘they’ rather than a ‘we’.

The scientist stares a moment longer, then manages a nod. “I know.” He hesitates. He reaches into the pouch and pulls out a data stick, and there’s a sudden glint in his eyes. “You’re a pilot, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Bodhi says, and somehow he can feel a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I run kyber crystal from Jedha.”

Galen shakes his head, a disbelieving smile creeping onto his face. “Kyber. I should’ve known. Lyra was always the smarter of us when it counted.”

Bodhi hesitates. “Who?”

“Never mind,” Galen says, but the lines on his face carve a little deeper. He reaches out and takes Bodhi’s hand, pressing the data stick into it. Bodhi starts, surprised by the contact, and when he looks up Galen Erso’s eyes seem to draw him in until he can’t look away.

“Find Saw Gerrera. Give him this. Tell him… I’m sorry.”

Bodhi doesn’t know what to say to that, but Galen doesn’t let go. “I will,” he says finally, but it comes out sounding a little like a question, so he follows it up with a more confident, “I promise.”

“Thank you,” Galen says fervently. He releases his grip. Bodhi looks at the data stick in his hand. It’s awfully light, for something so important.

Too important to just go in a belt pouch. Bodhi bends down and tucks it carefully into his boot, nudging and adjusting until he’s sure he can walk without damaging it.

When he stands up, Galen is watching him with such intensity that Bodhi practically feels naked. “Would you indulge a scientist’s curiosity?” he asks after a moment.

“Uh, sure?” Bodhi says uncertainly.

“Don’t misunderstand me; I’m more grateful than you could ever know for your help. But I have to ask: Why?”

Bodhi’s heart sinks. He rubs at the back of his neck, looking down at the grungy front of his pilot’s jumpsuit. Once, he kept it clean, but he stopped being proud of his place in the world a long time ago. “The things the Empire does,” he says eventually, forcing the words out past a sudden lump in his throat. “The things they—destroy. And I just—do nothing. I just let it happen, right in front of me.” He stares hard at the ground.

Galen reaches out again to grip Bodhi’s shoulder. The pilot looks up, and sees his own regret reflected in a stranger’s eyes. “You are doing something now,” Galen tells him. “Now, when it matters the most.”

“But before—“

Galen shakes his head. “I know about mistakes. None of us can change the past,” he says. There’s a world of pain lurking under those words. He refocuses on Bodhi. “But the future is still yours, if you’re brave enough to take it.”

Bodhi swallows, and nods.

Galen Erso smiles, squeezes his shoulder once more, and lets go. His eyes flicker up to the chrono on the wall. “There’s a patrol in a few minutes. They must not find you here,” he says. “Go.”

He does.


End file.
